Fantan Raif
Fantan Raif is an albino Farghul hailing from their home planet of Farrfin. While something of a mysterious being with a shaded past, he has beaten adversity and made a fine reputation for himself as an accomplished business man as a Regional Director of the Regal Corporation. However, those with their ear to the ground know that Fantan's business far exceeds the realm of traditional corporate conduct. ---- History Childhood Maraden and Sehlna Herant gave birth to the being known as Fantan twenty-seven standard years ago on their home world of Farrfin. 'Shock' may not be a strong enough word to describe their feelings upon laying eyes on their child. ‘Complete’ may not even be a suitable adjective, though each parent felt the same emotion in two very different ways that day. His mother, Sehlna was shocked at the miracle of having given birth and realizing the happiness that overcame her, while his father, Maraden, was shocked that his son was an albino. Fantan was born completely without any pigment in his fur, his eyes, or his whiskers. While Maraden did not reject Fantan as his son, it would take him a great deal of time to get used to the idea of having an imperfect offspring. Maraden held a high executive position in the corporate sector on Farrfin. His company traded goods on and off planet to and from all over the galaxy. Though he kept it a secret, even from his wife, Maraden conducted many illegal actions through the company including embezzlement, smuggling, and narcotic trafficking. Sehlna was mostly a fancy decoration on Maraden’s arm. Having no career herself, she would stay mostly at home or among her friends simply enjoying the glamourous life that Maraden’s career could afford. She was considered very attractive among her race and peers and loved dressing up for the many corporate parties Maraden was expected to attend. But she too had her faults, the biggest being spice. It was a common trait among Farrfin’s bourgeois class to indulge in all of life’s riches, and spice was seen as a delicacy among many, though rarely publicly. During Sehlna’s pregnancy, she refrained from the use of spice and it was a long time afterward until she fell back into her old habits. She never felt anything but the strongest love for her child despite his abnormality; to her, Fantan was the most beautiful thing in the galaxy. To Maraden, the most beautiful thing in the galaxy was his wife...or at least the jewels she wore. Wife and family to Maraden were a status symbol more than anything else which is probably what facilitated Sehlna’s drug habits so much. Fantan’s condition, was a hindrance on Maraden’s status and how he felt he would be perceived by others...but he was still his son. Sehlna was always very attentive to her son while he was growing up. She would give him anything that was in her power to do so, but Fantan rarely wanted for much. Though he may have been spoiled, it did not show very strongly. School was a cause for tension within the family. Sehlna wanted her son to get the best education her husband’s money could buy, but Maraden did not want his son to be seen in public, if not to spare Fantan the humiliation he would surely be objected to, than to protect the image others have of him that Maraden had spent so long cultivating. Eventually, Sehlna won the argument and Fantan was admitted into one of Farrfin’s best private academies. Sure enough, children being what they are, Fantan was the subject of many jokes and a great deal of humiliation...but it never hurt him. Never on the outside anyway. Inside, he would cultivate feelings of anger and animosity, but even as a child, he soon learned to harness and direct these emotions. There was one boy in his class, Gernist, who in particular took a special pleasure in making fun of Fantan. But Fantan would not go without revenge. He went home to his father and explained the situation. Maraden said that he may be able to help and came home from work the next day with a large data pad and a folder of paper files. The pad and the files had contained the life history of Gernist’s family; something a special contact Maraden has in the public official’s office was able to procure. Together, Maraden and Fantan sifted through the files until they found pearls of wisdom they could use to retaliate against the bully. The next day when Fantan went to school, Gernist began to approach him, and even before Gernist could complete his insult, Fantan walked straight to the front of the room and began announcing out loud Gernist’s medical history which, among other things, included strange wart-like growths in the inside of his mouth, and a chronic condition of wetting the bed. The class never let Gernist live it down and from that day on Fantan was considered a hero among many of his class mates. Not only that, but that event formed the first real bond between Fantan and his father. With this as a catalyst, Fantan learned to take the insults and spew them back at people. He would not stand for people berating him for his fur colour or any other reason. People quickly learned this and just as quickly stopped picking on him; although, Fantan always had a ready insult for anyone who looked ready to engage in verbal melee. Adolescence His father, though proud at the manner in which Fantan handled the situation at school, insisted that Fantan learn to physically defend himself. It was a skill that would come in handy for those times when words were simply not enough. Immediately, Fantan was enrolled in martial arts classes and quickly fell in love with them. He was very dedicated and eager to learn. He did quite well and even impressed many of the instructors. Socialization aside, Fantan did extremely well at school. He was always near the top of his class, but he rarely had to work hard. He had a memory that retained much of what it was exposed to to the extent that he did not have to take notes and would remember much of was the professor taught. School, just came naturally to him. He also began making friends despite a rough start. Gernist was never one of them though. Fantan, even in his youth, would hold a grudge. It did not make sense to him to forgive people. Forgiveness only grants people an opportunity to betray or hurt you again. The friends he did have were good ones though. If he got into trouble, he wasn’t alone. If by chance he was, his friends would take the blame. His best friend was named Hammandy. The two of them were almost like two separate halves of the same brain. So similar in some ways, but so different in others so as to keep each other balanced. During the early part of high school, he was even able to find a girl friend. Her name was Gselana and by Farghul standards, she was strangely attractive. No one at school could understand why such a fine woman would associate with an albino freak. Some said it was because his family was rich, but for Gselana, herself coming from a rich family, this was not the case. All it was in fact, was that she actually found him to be quite charming. In fact, while most girls wouldn’t admit to it on account of his abnormality, many of them did indeed find Fantan to be quite charming, a trait he would continue to develop for many years to come. During his last few years of secondary school, Fantan began working for his dad on a part time basis...though it was not the average after-school type job. For one, his name was never officially on the company roster nor did he receive an official pay check. Maraden knew he would be able to trust his son in the matter and as such, he began training him in the ways of his business, legal and otherwise. Fantan enjoyed working along side his father and did not wish to disappoint him. He was very attentive to the things he was learning and Maraden was glad to have him around. After he graduated from school, Fantan began working full time for his father. But it was now that the real education came into play. Fantan learned the full extent of his father’s business and how it all worked. He came to learn how to smuggle contraband on to and off of planets. He learned to forge customs seals with great accuracy and other such shipping documents. He learned to smuggle everything, from spice and other narcotics, to weapons and even people...though never slaves. Fantan, and his father, always made special note never to deal in slave trading. The most important thing he learned there was how to conceal his tracks and launder the money through several different intermediaries. With most of the business coming from off world, and a lot of the dealings being done with Hutts, Fantan worked to learn how to speak Hutt and Basic. While he’d rarely attempt to speak Hutt at the risk of offending the Hutt lords with his poor pronunciation, he could understand it perfectly. Basic was another matter. He could speak basic with an eloquence that even most humans couldn’t master. For five years, Fantan learned the ways of the business and learned them well. He found that his appearance was a strong business asset. Most people were offset by an albino Farghul and Fantan learned to play on their weaknesses, especially with his eyes. His blank eyes could peer into those of other people, and never did Fantan blink first. This unnerved many people and made the susceptible to certain propositions or negotiations they may not normally take part in. But the prosperity of the smuggling business would soon come to a quick end. The Galactic Empire became aware of an intricate smuggling ring on Farrfin but were having difficulty appropriating evidence. Following a lead, they confronted one of Maraden’s closer associates. By means of intimidation and threats, they convinced the man to nark on Maraden’s entire operation. The Empire soon came with a full invasion of the business. The entire operation fell and Maraden was arrested. Without any official record of Fantan having a hand in things and with his father’s refusal to sell his son out, Fantan was never arrested and remained free. But things certainly changed after that. Gselana was enraged at the news of Maraden’s criminality and broke off their relationship. Sehlna fell further into her addictions especially after being excluded from her posh social circles. Her addictions eventually landed her into a long-term hospital care leaving Fantan alone at home. He remained there for several months keeping as low a profile as possible. The people in the neighborhood became very unpleasant after the arrest. Those who were opposed to an albino freak in the first place became even more so after learning his father was a criminal. At times, Fantan would have to deal with minor acts of vandalism to the apartment and poor phone calls at late hours. None of this made sense as many of the people hassling Fantan were just as guilty as Maraden, but still, after a while, he simply sold the apartment, packed up, and left the planet. The Hutts Fantan had money, but much of it was sealed within accounts that were being closely watched by the Imperial authorities. So with only a meager collection of credits, Fantan set off. With the galaxy at his finger tips, Fantan was almost overwhelmed but decided to travel to the only place he thought he'd be able to function in society. Arriving on Nar Shadda, Fantan had no problems using some old contacts of his father's to fall in with a growing Hutt organization. There, it took no time at all for the Farghul to make a name for himself. Jzakra the Hutt was already very well established, but with Fantan's knowledge and help, the Hutt came under far less suspicion from authorities than ever before and Fantan was rewarded genersouly for it. The Farghul was only too keen as it gave him a chance to put his skills to use again and with most of his expenses being covered by the Hutt, he was able to start collecting a fair few credits. The Hutt's enterprise was vast, but Fantan was mostly active within arms dealing for the organization and its goons. As Fantan worked to keep everyone in the organization well equipped and the group well funded, he was well protected and after a while, Fantan could move almost anywhere on the planet without fear. In fact, the Farghul's reputation was often enough to disuade anyone wishing to cause personal harm. Knowledge of the Hutt's ability to shift arms across the galaxy spread quickly, but nothing would make him betray to otehrs his secret. Still, there were times that Jzakra would assign Fantan to work with affiliated Hutt clans who could be trusted. As such, Fantan soon found himself travelling to a distant world he had Never visited. ---- Life on Tatooine Category:Characters